N/A
The primary way to polish or finish various surfaces is with the use of cotton or cotton blended woven fibers converted into a wheel or bias buff form. Various grades of abrasives and abrasive compounds are applied to this material to achieve the desired finish for the particular application. For many applications, a different piece of equipment and a new buffing or polishing material must be used for the final finishing steps.
In applications that use hook and loop type holders, wool discs are attached to the holder. Either these discs must be tied on to the holder, or a hook and loop type substrate must be sewn or glued onto the back of the wool disc.
The present invention relates to a buffing or polishing material, also called a buff material, comprising a nonwoven fleece layer of natural and synthetic fibers fastened to a backing that provides strength and dimensional stability to the finished assembly. The nonwoven fleece layer comprises a blend of natural fibers and synthetic fibers ranging between 95% natural fibers and 5% synthetic fibers to 50% natural fibers and 50% synthetic fibers. The synthetic fibers preferably include low-melting polyester fibers that, when heated to their melting temperature, melt and bind with the other fibers of the fleece layer.
The resulting material has a uniform density and a stable construction, making it useful as a polishing or finishing material. The material can be used in various converted forms, such as a disc, endless belt, flapwheel, or spiral band. These converted forms may be used to buff, polish, or finish parts or products made of a variety of materials, such as metal, wood, plastic, composites, and glass. Abrasives or abrasive compounds can be applied to the surface of the material to aid in the buffing, polishing, or finishing operation.
The backing layer and fleece layer are held together by needle punching, by inclusion of a nonwoven fusible layer therebetween, or both. The nonwoven fusible layer also adds strength to the assembly. The backing layer preferably comprises a multi-filament layer and a polyester film layer, although other materials, such as another film material, woven cloth, a nonwoven, a spunbond, scrim, or loop fabric may be provided.